


I See You

by Elliot



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Demon Shane Madej, Demon!Shane, Gen, Graphic Description of Injuries, Maybe - Freeform, Near Death Experience, idk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21533494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elliot/pseuds/Elliot
Summary: Ryan has a Near Death Experience and suddenly can see all of it, demons, ghosts, and most notably Shane’s true form.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej
Comments: 16
Kudos: 334





	I See You

**Author's Note:**

> So I jumped on the bandwagon, and I've started writing about 5 fics already, all of which have more plot. Hell, I'm usually not at all interested in RPF but there is something about Demon!Shane theories that is just so fun. 
> 
> This fic seems cute and ready to post while I'll work on the rest. I might add more chapters eventually, especially Ryan actually coming to grips with the whole 'my best friend is a demon, holy shit' thing, because that is just fun.

He woke up to a vicious throbbing coupled with a sharp pain, in the back of his head. Like he'd split his skull open on a sharp rock. And honestly he wouldn't be surprised if he had. Last thing he remembered...- he actually wasn't sure. He'd gone out for coffee and a bagel and from that moment on it was blank. Though maybe that was only because he couldn't concentrate. It hurt too much. 

He groaned, whimpering as he shifted and opened his eyes. 

To a face hanging above his.

\--

Proud was not the word he'd use to describe how he felt when a high-pitched scream had ripped from his throat, but there was no use denying that was exactly what had happened. A girlish scream straight out of the flicks and a mad scramble to the nearest solid thing to have his back against—the stairs. Dirty, rickety stairs. There were splinters of wood digging into his flesh.

A hand, belonging to the translucent thing—a ghost, his brain helpfully supplied—reached for him.

\--

_”-an?”_

He'd blanked out again. He groaned. _Void, swallow me now. Please._

He cracked an eye open.

Two faces.

Two faces stared down at him. One the translucent thing- ghost from before. The other…-

"Ry?" The other face said. 

It sounded like Shane. 

It looked nothing like Shane. 

He swallowed. "S-shane?" 

The face smiled a little, squeezing a hand that was on his shoulder. “Yeah, buddy. Just me."

Ryan shook his head.

Shane (not!Shane?) dropped the smile. “You alright there?"

Even in the dark of the decrepit, old building (Right, that’s what they were doing, another haunted location, an asylum. God, what if a ghost had given him a lobotomy!) he could see the black pools of absolutely nothing that were its eyes, temporarily blinking in a ridiculously human (Shane!) way. He took it back, the void could leave right the fuck now. There were far too many teeth in that worried line that stretched beyond where Shane’s mouth should have been, the corners of that too wide jagged split turned down. There were horns curving from the sides of his head and another set in his hairline, bleeding black into his skin. Had this been a halloween costume he’d have applauded him, and laughed because it looked downright fake. But there was no reason for him to dress up on one of their shoots, and Halloween wasn’t around the corner in any way. Besides, another set of eyes blinked unsteadily smaller and slightly higher than the black voids. 

It was wrong. It looked wrong. And still so much like Shane. "W-What did you do to him?" He demanded, voice wavering. 

Not!Shane blinked again, "What did I do to who, Ry?"

"Shane. What did you do to _Shane_?" Pride was making him bolder—pride at standing his ground and not succumbing to crying and blubbering in the face of terror. Holy shit. There were ghosts and demons! Shane was never going to believe him, but also, hah, suck it, Shane! He was right! Terrified and about to piss his pants, but absolutely right!

The demon looked confused. 

He didn't know that demons could be afraid. Then again, what the hell did he know about demons anyway? They looked terrifying, but... Wasn't this one supposed to attack him? Rip him to shreds? Possess his mortal shell? Murder his crew and drag all of their souls to hell? Instead he could still feel the warm comfortable weight of its hand on his shoulder. 

Comfortable? Wait. What? 

"Did you hit your head? It's me. Shane? Your favorite big oaf?“

Ryan shook his head, swallowing as he reached out—Why the fuck was he reaching out?! To a demon!—and poked one of the horns. Or at least, he tried. But as he did his vision shifted—became double-layered, like overlaid images when editing videos, in which one showed the demon, and the other showed the original familiar and trusted friend Shane, both looking worried, a hand- claw? closing around his wrist to lower the hand.

"You're gonna poke my eye out like that." Shane- the demon? reasoned with a hint of amusement. His touch was warm, but not searing hot like Ryan expected a demon's to be. 

Ryan blinked, then pulled his hand back to rub at his eyes. But he had felt the horn, hadn't he? He looked again and there it was, still two faces, one demon, one ghost. "Ghost." 

"Ghost?" Shane looked at the ghost and the ghost blinked back, shrugged and looked back down at Ryan. "What are you talking about? Were you pushed?"

His head hurt too much for this pantomime, and he shoved the demon pretending to be Shane back so he could sit up. The ghost backed away. "I mean, ghost. Right where you are looking, you asshole. Don't lie to me." 

What was that thing again about demons and not antagonizing them? Well, if the demons had Shane already then he was a lost cause as well. They were a package deal. Besides, this one wasn't acting remotely scary. The _ghost_ was more scary than the demon aside from its looks. She was dressed in a Victorian style dress, because of course she was, but her skull was caved in, with dark trails bleeding down her face and soaking into her dress, eyes white and hollow. She would have been pretty if it wasn't for the caked down hair and half the side of her face missing. And she was just... Standing there, hovering over him, spreading cold down to his bones.

"Elisa. You're Elisa, aren't you?" Ryan found himself suddenly saying, remembering the history that went with the place. She was one of the gruesome deaths reported by the current owner. She was supposed to be one of the kinder ghosts, just causing splitting headaches. Oh, maybe that was what was happening to him…The blood reminded him to touch fingers gingerly to the back of his head. He winched and fuck, they felt sticky. Okay, maybe it was more than just ghostly affectation.

The ghost tilted her head. Then smiled slowly, nodding once. ' _Elisa',_ the wind appeared to say in time with her mouth.

Shivers ran up his spine. 

"Oh," The demon said.

"Yes oh. Fuck, Shane, I'm bleeding." He groaned, drawing fingers away to look at the blood. A flashlight flicked on and confirmed the crimson smear. 

"Shit, Ry! We need to get you to a hospital! No, don't look." The demon knelt next to him, flicking the flashlight to look at the back of his head and then the floor. 

A large pool of blood was soaking into the wood. Oh, that explained the light-headedness then... Maybe this was all one big hallucination from far too little blood and a big bump on the head. He hoped it was.

"Hospital?" he smiled faintly, adrenaline starting to bleed from his system. "Yeah. Yeah, sounds good."

\--

There was an old man sitting in the corner of the room. A hospital room, he knew that much. It was evident with the IV drip next to him, the sterile looking bed with mint green blanket, the one chair, the one table, the sink in the corner…

Oh, and the demon pretending to be Shane in the chair next to him. That wasn’t necessarily telling him this was a hospital, of course, but the events from the asylum flooded his mind. Suddenly it made sense why Shane always slept with an arm under his chin when leaning on a table or other surface; those horns wouldn't be comfortable digging into your arm. Though how he didn't wake up with a goddamn sore neck was another mystery altogether. 

He poked the demon's head (those horns were surprisingly well attached if this was all fake), a couple of times before it grumbled something under its breath and finally opened their eyes, silently questioning, still bleary with sleep. He’d seen it numerous times in Shane. Just like that. The grogginess, the slight look of accusation.

“You followed me here.” Ryan mumbled. His head didn't hurt so much. He blinked eyes at the machine next to him. Must be morphine. Nice. A smile spread on his face. Maybe that was why he was so calm about the proximity of the demon.

“Followed?” The demon scoffed. Despite the black void Ryan knew he was rolling his eyes. “Yes Ryan, I followed you, right after I dragged your unconscious ass to ER. I would have preferred the hotel beds over this too, but I thought I’d be a good friend and stick around.”

“Why?”

“Why I thought I’d be a good friend? I don’t know, maybe because I like you? Geez Ryan, didn’t know I had to justify sticking to your bedside after you almost brained yourself. I do care about you, you know?”

Ryan frowned, then sluggishly shook his head. “You don’t have to pretend to be Shane. I see you.”

“What do you-” Shane pushed himself up from the edge of his bed. Was it just the horns or did the demon add another foot or so to Shane’s already ridiculous height? “I _am_ Shane. Jesus Ry, how hard did you hit your head. What year is it? Who’s the president? What do I want the devil to say back to me before I believe in his existence?”

“2020. The spray-tanned cheetos. And Choo choo pickle pie, huh,” he hitched a laugh, smiling, a hand sluggishly waving at not!Shane. “Not really the devil, but I think you saying that counts. Say you believe in ghosts and demons now.”

“Ryan.” The demon started to sound annoyed.

“If you’re not a demon, then why do you have… you know, horns?” He vaguely mimicked the curl of them at the sides of his own head and then pressed his hands like bullhorns against his forehead, one eyebrow arched. 

God, that IV line was annoying. He glared at the thing, lowering his hand.

The demon looked flabbergasted. At least, that’s what it looked like.

“Wha-?” He gave him a look.

“You can see those?”

“And the eyes. Too many. Like a damn spider. No offense. Just hate spiders.”

“Fuck.”

“I wasn’t supposed to?” Ryan blinked innocently.

“You weren’t supposed to- of course you weren’t! I don’t want to scare you!” The demon exclaimed, hands pushed into his hair. “You shouldn’t be able to see that. Not when I- Horns?” Ryan nodded. “Eight eyes?” Again he nodded. “Black? Toothy maw?” Another nod and the demon raised its hands. “Black claws? Tail?” 

Ryan’s eyes traveled down to the demon’s backside and there saw a long tail flicking around nervously like a coiling snake. He nodded. 

The demon deflated, shoulders falling and looking somewhat tortured. “My true form. How are you seeing my true form? ”

“You’re a demon.” Ryan stated, though it was half a plea for confirmation. Again why was he so calm? “Question, again, n’ offense, but why don’t you… _feel_ , y’know, like, evil?” He cringed at his own clumsy phrasing.

The demon looked up at him, brows knitting together in thought. “I don’t know. Maybe you’ve gotten used to me. Like when you go smell-blind. Constant exposure making you insensitive to the thing.”

That didn’t sound like too bad an answer, Ryan thought. He shifted, smoothing a hand over the sheets. “And you’re Shane?”

“ _Yes._ ” the demon said emphatically, exasperated like his friend would be.

They fell silent. The demon- no, Shane (if it was true) probably waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ryan was processing. It went a lot slower when your brain was under the influence of painkillers. 

His eyes strayed around the room again.

"Wha's the old man doin' here?" he mumbled.

"Old man?" the demon— no, Shane, grumbled. But dammit if he didn't sound exactly like his friend when they stopped for gas at the side of the road on one of their trips where Shane had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and woke up disoriented.

Ryan pointed.

The old man didn't respond, just kept facing its corner, rocking slowly back and forth. It was disturbing.

Shane frowned. "You can see him." It wasn't a question. 

Ryan hummed in agreement.

"Shit." Shane said, pushing up from the bed. "Uhm," He scratched at his jaw with those black tipped claws.

Funny, he didn't think demons would act that human. But maybe this one just adopted his friend's mannerisms. It was a damn rude thing to do.

"What?" Ryan muttered, rolling his eyes as if this was banter and not a scene from his nightmares. Okay, he may be exaggerating there a little bit.

“I can do a thing, but you're gonna freak out." 

"I can't freak out an’ more with you—you lookin’ like that." He waved sloppily at the demon.

The demon winched, pulling a face, but then nodded and averted his eyes as he turned to the old man. Dark shadows started to play around him, and oh- that is where the evil aura became more noticeable. Some primal part of Ryan told him to get away from it. But between the morphine and the part of his brain that wanted to believe this was his friend, he just watched in fascination.

Then Shane took a step towards the old man. 


End file.
